Lets be honest. Its much easier to invest in companies which are NOT very Green or Socially Responsible. Some of our investments may have to be a compromise.
[There will be plenty of discussion along these lines: A corporation is doing something green, but look at what else they are doing ..... Nevertheless, I will emphasize the positive in most future posts.]
If you are close to the news & you have even a little experience with the business world, you know many of the bad guys. Indeed almost everyone in certain industries is bad - like Fast Food. And some industries are all bad - Tobacco, Weapons, & Nuclear Power, for example. [I am hopeful some company will come along & find a beneficial and profitable use for tobacco. Hey, it could happen :-). Nukes: A technology to neutralize radiation: seems impossible ]
Bad Corporations: Since 1988 a man named Russell Mokhiber has taken on the gloomy job of listing the “10 worst corporations of the year.” in his newsletter Multinational Monitor.
For the previous millennium, you can check out his master list of the “Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade - 1990s,” ranked by the amount of their fines. See http://www.corporatepredators.org/top100.html
For 2006, Mokhiber listed in alphabetical order: Abbott Labs, Altria [Philip Morris], BAE Systems [military contractor], Boeing, First Energy Corp [nuclear power], Kroger, Massey Energy [coal], Pfizer, Smithfield Foods, & Wal-Mart.
Here’s the list of the worst offenders: those who have made the annual lists more than a couple of times since the first list in 88:
6 Times: Altria [Philip Morris]
5 Times: Exxon/Mobil
4 Times: DuPont Chemicals, General Electric, General Motors, Pfizer [Warner-Lambert] & Wal-Mart
3 Times: Abbott Labs, Caterpillar Tractors, Coca-Cola, GlaxoSmithKline, Monsanto, & Shell Oil.
2 Times: 24 Companies
1 TIme : 88 Companies
Of course, this is HIS list with HIS criteria. To be fair, it would be nice to feel that a company, like a person, can improve with time. McDonalds & Aetna made the first list in '88' only. Are they better? Did they just avoid getting caught? Did they avoid heavy fines and bad publicity?
McDonalds? Nope. Thanks to negotiations with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), they have made a few minor changes for the better, but over the years they have become more automated and impersonal than ever.
So, I doubt corporations change much. Since these institutions often generate more income than lots of countries, most of them are just plain too large to change much without some kind of public disaster, management takeover, or new philosophy. If you think of an exception, let me know.
Bottom Line: Of course you would not be likely to invest in corporations like these. But what about your pension or mutual fund?
